City and County of San Francisco / Public Defender

Agency file

Public Defender

Source file: City and County of San Francisco — Employee Compensation / ingested Jun 17, 2026

The Public Defender handles legal functions of government — prosecution, legal advice, and representing the state in court.

In 2025, this agency had 250 employees with median total compensation of $202,487; the highest distinct record was $403,576.

Year: 2025
Total payroll: $54.7M
Employees: 250
Median total: $202,487
Highest record: $403,576

What the records show

Compensation analytics

These summaries compare pay within the agency before listing individual records.

Salary distribution

$3,436$377,856+

Hover a bar for its range; click to filter the list below.

How 2025 total compensation is spread across the 250 employees. Each bar is a pay range; taller bars mean more people earn in that range. The amber line marks the median ($202,487) — half earn less, half more. The far-right bar collects the highest earners.

Average pay composition

Base — $163,313 (75%)
Overtime — $166 (0%)
Other — $1,352 (1%)
Benefits — $53,842 (25%)

What an average paycheck here is made of — base salary versus overtime, other pay (bonuses, allowances), and benefits. A large overtime or other-pay share means take-home often exceeds base salary.

Pay percentiles

10th

25th

Median

75th

90th

$119,216

$151,643

$202,487

$282,409

$348,663

The pay ladder for this department. Someone at the 90th percentile earns $348,663 — more than 90% of the department; the 10th percentile earns $119,216. The shaded band is the middle half of employees (25th–75th percentile).

Largest job titles

Attorney (Civil/Criminal)

108 · $262,504

Legal Assistant

35 · $153,177

Senior Public Defenders Invstgtor

16 · $198,123

Head Attorney Civil & Criminal

15 · $365,930

Court Alternative Specialist 1

13 · $138,963

The most common job titles in this department by headcount, with the median total compensation for each. Click a title to see everyone who holds it.

Trend

Year over year

How this department's total payroll, headcount, and median pay changed across the 2 published years.

Year	Total payroll	Employees	Median pay
2024	$52M —	252 —	$199,423 —
2025	$54.7M ▲ 5.1%	250 ▼ 0.8%	$202,487 ▲ 1.5%

Compare

Similar departments

Departments elsewhere with the most similar mix of roles — a proxy for the same kind of agency, matched by workforce composition rather than name. Pay is not cost-of-living adjusted.

Office of Public Utility Counsel Texas80% match
Office of Administrative Law California75% match
City Attorney City and County of San Francisco74% match
District Attorney Allegheny County, Pennsylvania66% match
Public Defender Council, Georgia Georgia65% match
Attorney General's Office South Carolina62% match

Record list

Employees

Page 1

Jacob Miller

Legal Assistant/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$92,087

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $64,391
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $1,418
Benefits: $26,277
Total compensation: $92,087
Employment type: Temporary Exempt
Union / bargaining unit: Prof & Tech Eng, Local 21
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.6

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $11,652
Job Code: 8173
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $5,073

At Public Defender, Jacob Miller serves as a Legal Assistant within Legal & Court. They work temporary exempt, 0.6 FTE. Their 2025 pay totaled $92,087. Union affiliation: Prof & Tech Eng, Local 21.

Thelma Flores-Arroyo

Senior Legal Process Clerk/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$90,495

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $59,911
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $2,610
Benefits: $27,974
Total compensation: $90,495
Employment type: Permanent Civil Service
Union / bargaining unit: SEIU, Local 1021, Misc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.65

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Health and Dental Benefits: $14,119
Job Code: 8108
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $4,734

Thelma Flores-Arroyo holds the role of Senior Legal Process Clerk at Public Defender within Legal & Court. Their status is permanent civil service, 0.65 FTE. In 2025, their total compensation was $90,495. They are represented by SEIU, Local 1021, Misc.

Dorothy Bustamante

Attorney (Civil/Criminal)/Public Defender

2025 total comp

$89,550

Sub-department: Legal & Court
Organization group: Public Protection
Base pay: $83,305
Overtime: $0
Other pay: $0
Benefits: $6,245
Total compensation: $89,550
Employment type: Temporary Exempt
Union / bargaining unit: Municipal Attorneys Assoc
Full-time equivalent (FTE): 0.31

Source-specific fields

Data As Of: Jun 14, 2026
Data Loaded At: Jun 15, 2026
Department Code: PDR
Job Code: 8177
Job Family Code: 8100
Organization Group Code: Public Protection
Other Benefits: $6,245
Total Salary: $83,305

Dorothy Bustamante is a Attorney (Civil/Criminal) at Public Defender within Legal & Court. They work temporary exempt, 0.31 FTE. 2025 total compensation came to $89,550. Their bargaining unit is Municipal Attorneys Assoc.